Mega Man X: Twins out of Time
by Zytharros
Summary: Two ancient robots are awakened during the lull of strikes by Sigma between the Reploid Wars and the crash of the space colony Eurasia. They must reveal to Maverick Hunter HQ what, exactly, Sigma is. COMPLETE
1. Dual Awakening

Dual Awakening 

I 

A couple of miners were working away, living out their lives as they did every day. The miners, a human-like robot called a "reploid" named Toma, and his pet Mettaur Cliff, chipped away at the rock with pickaxes, trying to find anything of value in the mines. It seemed to them, though, that their bosses were crazy. This mine had long since been completely excavated by the Maverick Hunters for resources. It was highly doubtful anything of significance would turn up.

Cliff's pickaxe clanked away in an endless cacophony with Toma's, when an abnormal sound brought the tiny mettaur back to reality. Through a series of beeps, Cliff excitedly notified his master of the change in rock.

"What is it, Cliff?" Toma asked.

The yellow-hat-and-feet-plus-black-body robot scurried away to the place where he had been digging. He hit the same spot again. The same sound resonated clearly.

Toma spurred into action. "This might be what we're looking for!" he exclaimed as he frantically shoved rocks aside. Cliff helped by blasting rocks with his little cannon.

After a few minutes, he heaved the last of the rocks out of the way of a screen containing a small robot no bigger than a child. It didn't look anything like the modern Reploids.

"It must be an old model," Toma commented. "It might fetch a good price at a museum or at Maverick Hunter HQ. Too bad we're already workin' for 'em."

He moved it out of the way. As he did, Cliff stared into the hole created by the missing reploid container. He noticed something reflect some light off the just-removed container in the back, and alerted Toma by way of those same series of beeps.

After placing the stasis tank down, Toma came running. "Another one!?" he exclaimed.

He extracted this second one from the rubble of the old science lab. He loaded them into his truck and drove off.

"We done good today, my Met," Toma said, heading towards Maverick Hunter HQ. "Boss'll be pleased with this."

Cliff returned a reply in a short, staccato series of high-pitched beeps, different in pattern than the ones used to alert.

A few minutes later and they were in the HQ. Their truck was unloaded, they were paid, then Toma and Cliff left for home. Their job was done. They didn't care what the reploids they found were. They were mining bounty-hunters looking for work, and this job was done.

The one who greeted them was Axl, an unknown newbie who would have more of an impact on the future than he would know, garnering many adventures with the legendary X under his belt. Axl worked in receivership, as he was a brand new recruit to the Maverick Hunters, as well as a secret organization only he knew of. He led the transport robots up to the research core to drop the two reploids off at the lab. After he finished, he talked with a passing-by Alia.

Coincidentally, Zero, a red reploid with flowing gold hair and mad sword skills, was in the lab for his maintenance Another legendary Reploid with the most adventures of anyone at Maverick Hunter HQ, he had reported in due to a problem he was having involving his internal processes. He watched the newbie and also-somewhat-new navigator Alia exchange words. Two stasis chambers went by, into the very lab where he sat being checked over by Lifesavor, a bearded sky blue robot specializing in vaccines and anything technomedical. Zero's curiosity was piqued.

Once his repair was completed, he found Alia talking with one of her co-workers. She was ending the conversation, so Zero approached her.

"So, Alia, what did that kid bring in today?" Zero asked.

"Oh, hi Zero!" Alia replied. "He brought in a couple of outdated robots that some old reploid found doing a mining mission we sent him on. They're both kids."

"New recruits, I guess…" Zero commented. "Have you gotten their names yet?"

"Shift and Shatter," the programming whiz shook her head. "They won't respond to any commands to activate. My guess is their circuits and programs need repairing."

Zero closed his warrior-like eyes, folded his arms, and thought for a moment, then mumbled, "Can I see them?"

"What for? They're sleeping in their stasis tanks," Alia asked. "Do you think you'll be able to activate them?"

"Who knows?" the red reploid said, opening his eyes. "Maybe there's something you haven't thought of yet."

"My processor is designed to go through thousands of thoughts a millisecond," she exclaimed. "How can you say I haven't thought of everything?"

"Hey, I miss stuff on missions all the time," Zero declared. "If it weren't for X, I probably wouldn't be half as powerful as I am now."

Alia giggled. "Yet you pretty much babied him through his first year or two with us. Heck, his first serious mission would have failed had you not watched his back, from what I hear from Signas."

"Hey, I was a newbie once, too," Zero exclaimed. "As are you. By the way, Vile was a tough enemy as well. You remember how he torched me before X took him out."

Alia cocked her head to one side. "How long ago was that?"

"Um… actually, no, you wouldn't remember. It was before you got here," Zero said. "Probably ten, twenty years ago. Yeah, I babied him, but the next time we met he was quite powerful. Whoever his creator was knew what he was doing, that's for sure."

Alia checked her notes. "Dr. Thomas Light. September 6, 20XX."

"Oh yeah," Zero said, suddenly becoming very quiet.

Alia looked him in the eye. "Why is it that whenever I say that name you get all teary-eyed, Zero? It's the only thing you can't take, really."

Zero shook his head. "It's… it's nothing."

Alia shrugged. "Alright, Zero. If you say so."

Zero leaned against a nearby wall, waiting for her to leave before heading into the storage room and examining the robots. When he finally got to see them, he went over their pods with great carefulness and measured movements before finding an old encryption on the back of the girl's chamber.

_To activate the sleeper, one must engage the pair,_ Zero thought, recalling the message. _Hmm, that's cryptic. Wonder what it means?_

He looked at their name plates, also engraved into the dark, worn capsules. The boy was the one named "Shift" and the girl "Shatter".

From the looks of things, the one called Shift was the shorter of the two, about the size of a child. He looked like he was designed for speed and close combat with the way his body was built for minimal wind resistance. He had no helmet. Instead, a wild collection of purple strands of hair sprung from his head in a daring and untameable way. He had a small energy-generation unit for a shield, makeshift gun or backup sword attached to his left arm and a sword strapped to his back. Otherwise, he had an uncanny resemblance to Zero, especially in colouring. However, his armour seemed a little rusty, as if he had been sleeping for quite some time.

The one called Shatter seemed better built to handle distance combat for extended periods. She was equipped with a gun of X's calibre, but with a sniper shot aiming device and similar energy-control properties to that of her brother's cannon. The end of its' barrel seemed more comfortable firing heavy explosives, like a grenade or a small missile, rather than ordinary energy bullets. She looked a lot like X, which caused him to surmise that she was built more recently and also with X's blueprints as a base. She also didn't have a helmet. Her hair was pink and flowed long with the water. Her white bangs came down her nose and created a flattened W shape just above her round, dark eyes.

The solution occurred to Zero as he was examining them.

"These two seem built to be a team," he commented. "One must engage the pair… I bet I have to awaken them both at the same time."

Figuring the capsules had to hear the activation at the same time for it to work he took a step back, centering his line of sight between the two containers. He took a breath and spoke.

"Shift and Shatter, awaken!"

The stasis tanks lurched upright. They emptied their liquid contents, then, with a poof of steam, opened their doors. Shift and Shatter awakened, both looking a little zombified as they started up.

They both called out their status at the same time.

"Startup at 3. Engaging central processor. Startup at 14. Beginning visual scans and audio processing."

Zero stepped back. Alia burst through the door.

"What's going on?" she shrieked.

Zero turned to her and smiled. "I awakened them."

Alia stepped beside him as Shift and Shatter awakened, reciting their processes in perfect synchronization. She was thoroughly amazed at the complete intertwinedness of their internal link.

Shift and Shatter completed their startup.

"Personality matrix online," they said. "Startup complete. Begin program 'Opera Xeron 6, version 2.4.0.0.4-beta'. Starting Parallax Server system."

Shift looked around. "Do you have any idea where we are?"

Shatter shook her head. "I don't." She eyed her brother. "You need some cleaning up."

Shift looked himself over. "Well, lookee here. I do. So do you."

The two raised their eyes to Alia and Zero.

"I'm Shift," the boy said, extending his hand to Zero.

"I'm Shatter," the girl stated in kind, extending her hand to Alia.

Zero and Alia looked at each other and shook hands with the kids.

"I'm Zero."

Shift and Shatter recognized the name, but didn't clue in.

"I'm Alia."

"Your name isn't in my databanks," Shatter said. "Are you new robots?"

Alia looked at Zero. She didn't know how to answer.

Zero replied, "Depends. What time period are you from?"

"We're from the age of the glorious Rock and his faithful dog Rush," Shift declared. "Our creator is Doctor Walter DeGrier, third cousin to the legendary Doctor Thomas Light. We're advanced versions, designed to conquer Wily's lesser conquests around the world that Rock doesn't know of as a team."

"Yeah, we're definitely younger than you," Alia said. "We're reploids, based of X's design."

"X!?" Shatter shrieked. "You've met X, the one I'm based off of? How long ago did he activate? What's he doing now? And why's Zero standing here and not destroyed by X for killing Dr. Light, Rock, and that whole family?"

"You…" Zero closed his eyes. "Please don't bring me back to that day, I beg of you…"

Shift looked his sister in the eye and threw her an angry look. His sister closed her eyes.

"I'm sorry, Zero," she said. "I just want to know, that's all."

Shift rolled his eyes.

"Well, that's a big secret!" Alia nodded. "What'll you do, Zero?"

Zero opened his eyes and took a big breath. "It was my first activation. It was early in my development, seeing as Dr. Wily didn't even imprint the laws of robotics on my mind yet. I went on a rampage, killing everything in sight. Then, a saviour came from nowhere and knocked me out. He placed me back in stasis until the proper time whence I should activate. The saviour was Bass."

"Now that Shatter got the ball rolling, what happened after that?" Shift asked, eyeing his sister. She shied away.

"It's no problem," Zero said. "I'd probably have to get this out sooner or later, anyway."

Shatter's eyes opened in a cute and shy way.

Shift nodded. "I understand."

"Besides, I wouldn't know after that," Zero continued. "I was in stasis for the next 25 years. I don't know what happened to all the support units."

Shatter's eyes closed again. She didn't say a word, but something told everyone she knew the answer. No matter how they pleaded, they couldn't get the answer from her. Even Shift, who could read her mind, couldn't read this part. It was as if she had built a firewall around this and was keeping it to herself.

Finally, Zero spoke up. "She's obviously not going to tell us, at least not yet. Let's forget about it and go pay a visit to Signas. I'm sure he'd like to know about you two."

Shift shook his head. "Not in this," he said, indicating his armour. "Any way I could get shinied up?"

"Me, too," Shatter said. "Stasis for, uh, however many years does quite a number to your hair."

Alia nodded. "I'll get Lifesavor and Douglas to take a look at you two."

The twins smiled and replied in-synch, "Thank you."


	2. Freaking Pwnd

Freaking Pwnd 

II 

About three hours and a couple new bodies later, Shift and Shatter were being escorted by Zero and Alia to Signas' room so they could become familiar with the Maverick Hunter HQ and its' time period. On the way, they met Axl, a reploid named R, an up-and-coming strategy reploid employed in the Giga City Security Centre who was in for a visit, and a winged reploid called Skiver who was responsible for ordering the air defence unit.

Eventually, they arrived at the core of the HQ. Zero and Alia were cleared to enter, but Shift and Shatter had to wait outside before getting clearance from Signas. They retreated to Signas' private quarters for a chat, discovering X had already arrived prior to them for a talk on a separate matter with the chief strategist of the Maverick Hunters. They had finished their talk within a fraction of a second of Zero arriving.

Shatter's heart shattered when she saw X. "You brilliant machine," she gasped when she saw him.

X tilted his head to one side. "Do I know you?" he asked.

Shatter swallowed, "Oh, forgive me. I'm Shatter. My brother, here, his name's Shift."

"Shift and Shatter," X said. "Welcome aboard."

Signas smiled. "More help's always needed with fending off the Mavericks."

Shift nodded. "Yeah, yeah. So tell me, what time period did we awake in? Oh, and Shatter, stop drooling over X."

"Sorry," she whispered. She sheepishly moved away from him.

Shift muttered under his breath, "Stupid fangirl-bots…"

Overhearing his comment, Signas chuckled. He replied, "Well, you've arrived within a year of the conclusion of one of the biggest battles in history. The Reploid Wars ended about two months ago, and we're just finishing upgrading Maverick Hunter HQ from what we learned from them."

"Reploid Wars… So these Mavericks seem to cause you a lot of trouble," Shatter said.

X sighed. "Tell me about it. I'd rather see a peaceful resolution, but they always drag me out there into the front lines."

Zero smirked. "Wimp."

"Hey!" X said. "I just think things can be solved differently than through violence, okay? Is that so bad?"

Shatter's heart melted again. _He's so awesome…_

Alia looked at Shatter with jealous eyes. Shatter caught the glare.

_What's she staring at?_ Shatter thought.

"In other news…" Shift said, hoping to return to the original subject after picking up what Alia was dropping, "…who's their leader?"

"Their leader is not so much a person as it is a virus we've called Sigma," Alia said. "It's a dangerous, morphing, learning virus that can infect everything it comes in contact with."

"Great," Shift muttered. "We're dealing with a psychotic virus. Not like we haven't dealt with those befo…"

Shatter gave him a crippling look.

Shift's eyes widened and he shut up. He remembered what his sister kept locked away, and knew he had to, as well.

"What?!" Signas exclaimed. "You've had experience with Sigma?"

Shift stayed silent. Neither he nor Shatter would say any more on the subject, especially when pressed about their pasts.

Signas could see this was getting nowhere, so he decided to shift up the topic. "Are either of you interested in joining us?"

Shift and Shatter looked at each other. Thoughts were crossed between them that nobody else knew.

_I've been waiting for this._

_I know. So have I. This might be the time to rectify our mistake._

_It's the perfect opportunity._

_What if they find out?_

_There's nothing they, or we, for that matter, can do about it now. The virus is already unleashed. Our actions were only the precursor to the age we're in now. I don't think it matters anymore._

_OK, then. Let's do it._

_That's the sister I know! Let's get this monster._

"We'll do it," the two said, facing Signas.

"Before you go up against Sigma, you're going to have to prove yourself in a series of tests," Signas said. "Just so we know what you're capable of and how we can repair you."

"We've already been repaired once," Shatter said. "Douglas and Lifesavor did amazing jobs replicating our original armour and conditions."

"Regardless," X smiled. "I'd like to see what these newbies have."

Zero nodded. "Let's take them on."

Shift and Shatter smiled. "We won't be as easy as you think," they said as one.

"You can use Training Fields Nine and Eleven for your fight," Signas said. "The others are full with kids on tours or other Reploids in training. We'll activate the shield on the sides that cross Fields 12, 10, and 8."

X asked "Can either of you teleport?"

Shift and Shatter laughed. "Teleporting? That's so old-school." Shift smiled.

They both vanished. X and Zero shrugged and teleported to the field. Both parties arrived there at the same time.

"Wow, you're fast!" X said.

Shatter nodded. "Cover your ears and brace yourself," she said.

X and Zero complied, but they were still blown over by the force of the sonic boom.

Shift prepared his blue sword. "I'm pretty fast."

Zero pulled out his own green saber. "I'm more experienced."

_I wouldn't be so sure of that, buddy,_ Shift thought to himself, smiling. He replied with a, "We'll see about that, red boy."

X and Shatter faced off, guns at the ready. Shatter's hair flowed freely in the wind.

"3… 2… 1… Go!" they shouted.

Zero lunged and connected blades with Shift. Zorts and zeeoos resonated throughout the field. X fired a few shots at Shatter, which she deflected with her energy shield. She then launched an energy missile at X. It missed, but blew a hole in the ground three feet wide and three feet deep when it landed behind him.

"Oh, snap," X said, charging up a blast.

Shatter smiled. "Ready to give up, blue boy?

X released the charged energy. "Not yet!"

Shift and Zero never said a word during their entire match. They were both concentrating on countering each other's moves. Suddenly, Shift blurred and Zero's sword sliced through the leftover image. Shift appeared behind him and cut Zero's hair at the tips. Zero turned around and slashed again, but Shift disappeared. Zero tried to figure out where he would be, but then he was kicked over. However, Zero couldn't find time to find any evidence Shift had been there until he felt Shift's blade hot on his neck and saw his shadow overtop of his body.

"Done," Shift said. "Match over."

He helped Zero get up. They shook hands, then proceeded to watch X and Shatter blow stuff up.

"My money's on X," Zero said.

Shift smiled. "Care to put some zenny on that?"

"How's 100 sound?"

Shift laughed. "You don't know my sister. My money's already collecting interest."

"You don't know X," Zero said, smiling.

At that, there was a large explosion and X was sent flying over their heads. He landed a few feet behind them and got up.

"Dang, she's hard," X muttered. "How would I beat her? What th… HOLY METTAURS!"

A large missile crashed into X, exploding on-contact and sending him flying once again. He bounced off the electric field surrounding the battlegrounds and easily cleared their heads again, landing just in front of them.

"That's gotta hurt your ego," Shatter said, walking up to the party. She picked X up, brushed her hair back, and looked at Zero and Shift. "Can we go now? I'm bored. I wanna fight some real enemies that I can destroy."

Zero's jaw dropped. "Y-yeah…" He was astounded at the raw power of the young girl.

All Shift could muster was a smile and a "Freaking. Pwnd."

He held his hand out to Zero.

Zero sheepishly placed the Zenny in the little robot's hand. The little guy, cocky as always, slipped it into his wallet and swaggered away with his sister, Zero and X in tow.

----------

After a few minutes and back at HQ, Zero and X left Shift and Shatter with Signas.

"So, you beat class 'SA' hunters, I hear," Signas said. "Most impressive for ones your age."

Shift shrugged as he lounged all over the couch. "Meh, so what?"

Signas stood. "So what? I'll tell you 'so what'. This means that you're already qualified to take on some of Sigma's finest, something most Hunters are never prepared for."

Shift shrugged again. "X and Zero were pansies."

Shatter shook her head. "I don't think they were using all their abilities to fight us with, Shift."

"Nor were we," Shift replied. "I'm not going to give away my best during training."

He glared at Signas. "Until your organization can come up with something better, I think we'll strike it on our own."

Signas shook his head. "I can't allow you to do that for your own safety. Perhaps you were to stumble across Sigma's latest infection and fight it, only to become infected yourselves."

"He's got a point," Shatter verbalized. "Where would we be left then, Shift?"

Shift closed his eyes, slouched, folded his arms, and crossed his legs. "I'm not going to fight under the banner of an organization as pansy as this one. I think you'll agree, right Shatter?"

Shatter shook her head. "I can't agree this time, Shift. Who knows what's out there, waiting for us as we speak? Our best chance of survival is with the Maverick Hunters. We should stick around. Who knows? We might learn something."

Signas nodded, agreeing with Shatter.

Shift stomped his foot in frustration, but in the end, he finally reluctantly agreed to stay. Signas immediately began preparations for their accommodations. They were given a tour of the facilities, rules, rooms and all. Each was for their use as they saw fit, within the rules. Shatter vanished into the Reploid-manufacturing lab and in minutes came out with a miniaturized version of X. She showed it off to everyone and had it tag along for the remainder of the trek. Everyone inside was impressed with her mechanical and programming skill and knowledge. From then on she hung around the lab between training sessions, learning large amounts of things in very quick succession. Even Alia, a programming master, was impressed by the amount of knowledge this girl was retaining.

Shift, on the other hand, kept busy by training every day. Zero was impressed at his dedication and battle prowess. He was improving at an equal rate in fighting as his sister was in mechanics, maybe even faster. Zero and Shift sparred daily in their spare time to improve. Zero came to realize that this mere child had probably seen a lot of battle time in his previous activation and was quite possibly more experienced than he. This fueled his desire to beat Shift, and they both improved greatly, feeding off each other's determination and drive.


	3. Gemini's Navigator

Gemini's Navigator 

III 

After one month, Shift and Shatter were called up by Signas, as well as X and Zero. This was urgent.

"We've received reports that Sigma has shown signs of new activity," Signas said. "We need to look into it."

Shift stepped forward. He looked at Shatter and she nodded, signalling her willingness to help. "We will do it," he said.

Signas shook his head. "This mission is for X and Zero. You two have a different task that I will explain to you later."

He turned to X and Zero. "You two will report to an area near here in the city. Alia will explain the rest."

Shift folded his arms, plopped down and huffed. At this rate, he and Shatter would never be able to correct their mistake. Shatter sat beside him and looked into his eyes.

_What's up?_

_I want to help X and Zero beat Sigma, but…_

_We still don't know how powerful Sigma's gotten since his release. Let's see what he's up to._

Shift looked at her and smiled. "Thanks, sis," he said.

Signas, looking bewildered, asked, "Is there something wrong?"

Shatter shook her head. "No."

Signas shrugged and continued conversing with X and Zero, explaining to them a few other things. They left. Signas turned to the twins.

"Your mission will probably be simple for you. There's a small robot making trouble for us in the ghetto. He is infected with the Sigma virus and a danger to all, having killed three humans. I want you to terminate him."

"Something I should probably warn you about before we go," Shift said, "Keep an eye on the one you call The Skiver. He seemed to be acting out of the ordinary when we passed by. He was talkin' to himself as if he had two personalities."

Signas nodded. "Will do. Now, go."

Shift and Shatter left. They thought about different strategies on the way to fight this robot, stopping only to acquire a map of the city to find their way around.

When they exited Maverick Hunter HQ, they were surprised to see the road utterly destroyed. They noticed a few robots wandering around and a Mettaur not ten feet away from their current position.

Suddenly a voice barged in. "H-hello? Shift? Shatter? Is this thing on?"

"Who's there?" the twins asked in unison.

"Oh! Good. My name's Ricardo," the deep voice said. "I'll be your navigator."

"OK, so we're straight, we only need to know when we can't see something," Shift said. "No useless babbling, OK, like telling us how to jump over holes and hit enemies."

Ricardo nodded. "OK. Now, what's in front of you is a…"

"I said don't report anything menial or obvious," Shift sternly interrupted. "We know what's in front of us."

"…OK…" Ricardo quietly mumbled.

Shatter blasted the rotund mettaur's shell. The missile deflected off the shell and into the air.

"Well, that didn't help…" Shatter commented.

Shift walked close to the little robot. Suddenly, he was popped by three quick shots, then the Mettaur slammed its' helmet down again to protect itself. Shift smirked as the yellow robot repeated the attack sequence. This time, he slashed through the Met as it popped its' head up, splitting the robot in two. It exploded.

"I forgot how to deal with those pests," Shift said as they walked on.

Shatter nodded. "As did I. Cryogenic freeze does a number on your memory circuits."

They walked on.

Suddenly, Ricardo jumped in. "Shift? Shatter? 'Round the cor…"

"Know what?" Shift said, intending to mouth him off again. He stepped around the corner and walked right into a tall purple robot with a bazooka on his shoulder.

Ricardo shakily whispered, "I have one word for you: Vile."

The purple robot turned around. The piercing red eyes of the maverick their navigator called Vile stared them down without moving. Shatter flinched back, preparing her gun for combat.

"Hey, watch where you're going!" Shift said, jumping up.

Vile picked him up by the scruff of his armour. "You watch it, kid."

Vile tossed Shift aside and walked away. "Go cry to your mommy. The Mavericks are going to reign one day."

Shift got up. "Who the heck do you think you are?"

Vile snickered. "You don't know, do you? I'm going to be the one who kills X in the future, the one that makes him come under the glorious power of Sigma!"

Vile generated an energy blast. "Maybe it would be good to show you exactly what Sigma's like!"

He fired the energy blast at Shatter. She matched strength with him and split the blast in two, dissipating it.

She blew a strand of hair out of her face. "That's it?"

Vile grew angry. "Why won't you receive Sigma's blessing?"

Shift unsheathed his sword. "'Cause we know what Sigma is!"

Vile laughed. "You couldn't possibly know him! Sigma's older than you twerps!"

He fired a blast at Shift, but he slashed that in half as effortlessly as his sister had.

Vile grew angrier. "Dang it! How come Sigma's glory isn't passing to you!?" He prepared his cannon. "I guess I'm going to have to destroy you!"

Shift and Shatter prepared for battle. "Bring it on!"

X and Zero teleported in front of them. "Get out of here!"

"Wha!?" Shift shrieked. "Don't take a battle from me!!"

"Get out of the way, blue butthead!" Vile shouted. "Your little friend and I were having a good talk!"

"Shift, trust me," X said. "This guy's bad news!"

"But…" Shift whined.

Shatter stopped him. "We have to accept guidance from X 'cause he's lived in this era longer than us."

Shift swore, then turned and ran away from X and Zero. He realized his sister was right. He hated that, but he knew that it was for their benefit. They hadn't the knowledge of how to fight them.

Suddenly, Shatter screamed after him, "Missile heading for you!"

He quickly snapped his legs in a leaping motion to give him a little extra power. It wasn't enough. The missile crashed into his foot, exploding and destroying the appendage. He swore again, rolling on the ground. Shatter whisked him onto her shoulders and ran as fast as she could away. Shift made sure to defend his ride from the back as best he could with his sword.

They rounded a corner behind a building. Shatter radioed for help.

"You didn't tell me it was Vile!" she shouted when Signas' voice came on. "I thought you said it was a minor robot!"

"You ran into Vile!?" Signas exclaimed. "That can't be! He's dead!"

Shift laughed. "Apparently not, buck. He destroyed my foot. Can't walk. Can't escape."

"We'll get you back to camp," Signas said.

They stopped, then teleported into HQ.

"Well, that was a disaster," Shift said. He swore as he was let down. "I should have been more careful."

He limped to the repair docks assisted by Shatter. He was set up on a bed, and Lifesavor came to take a look at him. The robot was gruff, but he knew medicine. Shatter left her brother in his care and walked off to her room. She stretched and flopped on her bed. Staring at the ceiling, she contemplated the day's events.

"If we're to survive, we may as well have to let them see all we have," she mumbled. "Then they'll know how to bring our old technology up to par with this new stuff. Shift got owned out there."

A sharp pounding on the door interrupted her thoughts. She sat up and called the invitation.

Alia stormed in. "Why didn't you listen to your navigator??"

Shatter looked at her, then looked at the floor, not saying a word.

"You could've been killed out there, you know that? Why did your brother…" she stopped.

"Shut it." Shatter firmly replied. "We made a mistake. We know what we did wrong. I don't need to hear this."

Alia stumbled back. In her short time of knowing the little robot, she had never heard her speak so sternly.

"You must understand that this is a matter of international security," Alia informed.

Shatter nodded. "Yes, we know. I could put the blame on my brother, but I admit, I was a little cocky as well. I'm willing to go through your testing so you guys are completely aware of our powers. I think Shift will be as well."

"Shift has already confirmed his support," Alia said. "He's willing to do anything to get stronger to be able to kick Vile's butt."

Shatter stood up. "First, I want to meet Ricardo and apologize for the snappy attitude we had on the field."

"I thought so." Alia wrapped her arms around Shatter's shoulder and led her out. "Your brother said the same thing."

Moments later, the trio were standing in the control room. Alia called for Ricardo. Shift and Shatter, having met up in the lobby of the control room, stood together with the lead robot, intent on allowing Maverick Hunter headquarters to learn everything they could about them so they could be improved as required.

A second later, Ricardo descended on a wheelchair. He was a pale robot, made of yellow armour and three white stripes across each appendage. His black hair was in a messed-up frazzle, and his thick glasses were perched at an odd angle. He coughed, as if ill.

"Shift… Shatter…" Alia said. "This is Ricardo."

Shift and Shatter both gasped. The reploid was a mess! An arm was missing, a leg was mangled, and three large holes were visible on his chest.

"Ricardo! What happened?" Shift shrieked.

Shatter slapped her forehead with her hand and slowly shook the cranium she held out of disbelief.

Ricardo smiled. Despite his young appearance, his voice was quite raspy, and he spoke with a maturity that deceived even those who had known him since his creation. He began to tell his story.

"I was once a lowly farmer reploid. I was a rotor tiller model, used for tilling up the earth. I was ploughing one day alone, as usual, and suddenly a purple robot with a cannon built into his shoulder attacked me. He had no morals, no respect, no anything. He claimed to follow the 'world's saviour', someone he called Sigma.

"Anyways, he had no respect for life. He attacked the humans I worked for and killed them. I was helpless as he decapitated them right in front of my face. Being a newly-built robot, I didn't understand the value of life then, but something in my programming told me that this robot had committed a terrible crime, both upon me, and upon the earth.

"He had thought to pass the so-called blessing of Sigma on to me, but when he saw the state I was in, he figured I wouldn't be alive for much longer. He abandoned me, and went on to start whatever twisted revolution he concocted."

"A month later, just as I was contemplating self-destruction, Alia appeared. She was wandering around aimlessly, looking for some type of relief. She was headed where I was – nowhere fast. So, using her immense knowledge of programming and her limited construction skills, she constructed the shredded body you see before me now… but don't be fooled – the body I possess now hasn't always been like this. It was once a beautiful model, designed with flotation capabilities from an old, junkyard scrap robot she found, one with a domed, green body and what appeared to be radio-controlled arms."

"And two small spheres. Don't forget the spheres." Alia added.

"Right," Ricardo looked over at her. "The research crews are still doing research into what, exactly, those spheres are and what they're made of, as they're nigh indestructible. Right?"

Alia nodded. "They're really confused right now."

"Anyways," he continued, "we were walking along near Maverick HQ's airport, where we were met up with a different robot. It was a large robot, probably ten feet in height and with a wingspan nearly twice that. He proclaimed himself as Storm Eagle and proceeded to assault us with such ferocity I swear his circuits would've overloaded. Alia managed to escape, but my body became what it is today."

"When I went to repair him, he insisted that he be left as he was," Alia frowned. "I wasn't very impressed, but when I checked his programming I understood that his creator, a certain Dr. Keiji I., had built him to be a peaceful model, an-"

Shift yawned. "Can you speed this up? I need to get to upgrading."

"Shift!" Shatter snapped. She couldn't believe her brother.

Ricardo laughed. "Don't worry, Shatter. I was feeling like it was taking too long as well. However, I'm almost done. Basically, Signas picked us up and brought us to HQ, where I learned to be a decent navigator and Alia was finally able to put her skills to good use, in addition to becoming X and Zero's trusted navigator herself."

"That, as in our arrival, was about ten years ago, during the period where the X Hunters were attempting to kill X, and Sigma's second attack ended in failure."

"So, you're a farmer-turned-navigator," Shift summarized.

Shatter still couldn't get over Ricardo's appearance. "Whan an awful mess…"

Ricardo patted her on the shoulder. "I keep myself this way to remind myself of what I've survived. I'm not suffering in the least."

Shatter smiled. "Alright. I'll put it out of my mind."

Ricardo returned the grin and stepped back, eyeing the two young twins both with his kind, albeit damaged eyes.

"Now, we're going to send you through the Hunter's Training Program to better understand your construction," Ricardo directed. "We will test everything from your speed to your power, from your battle prowess to your physical structure. Even your unity will be tested."

Ricardo got serious. "Are you two ready to become full-fledged Maverick Hunters?"

Shift and Shatter replied militarily and in perfect synchronization…

"I am ready to join the Maverick Hunters in the fight against Sigma."


	4. Picky, Picky

Picky, Picky 

IV 

Shift and Shatter entered training that day. They first underwent a systems analysis, and were upgraded accordingly and not just willy-nilly like last time. They then got the opportunity to test out their new bodies.

Shift smiled and tapped his new legs on the ground. They were sleeker than his old armour – much more streamlined and very, very light. He held his new blade in his hands. It was again, much lighter and very well-fitted to his hand. He swung it a couple times and fell over. His body was lighter than his old one as well! His torso had thinned out a bit, and his arms were slightly less-bulky as well. It still looked exactly the same.

He got up. "Ouch…"

Shatter laughed. "You alright, Shift? You seem like you're having a hard time adjusting."

Shift glared. "You haven't even tried your new body yet," he snapped. "Get over here – it's your turn."

Shatter looked at her body and tried to cover up her legs. "I… don't like this exposure down here…" she mumbled, blushing. "Couldn't they have built me any more… I'unno… decent?"

Her outfit had almost changed completely – she now wore a short, black skirt outlined in purple and a black top with a purple fishnet shirt underneath. Her boots went up to her knee joints.

"Most girls dress like that nowadays," Shift said as he took another swing. He hit the ground again. "Augh… drat… it's like learning to walk all over again!"

Shatter sat down. "But I don't want… I mean… I…"

A passerby whistled.

Shatter blushed redder. She whispered, "I don't like the attention…"

Shift, sensing his sister's problems, turned, put his sword away, and folded his arms.

"Get Alia to get Lifesavor and Douglas to rebuild you, then," he said. "If you don't like your body, get them to rebuild it."

Shatter tried to pull the skirt down farther. She looked at a nearby towel.

"C-can you wrap me in that?" she asked.

Shift sighed. "Darn it, girl! Just go up and ask for a reconstruction!"

Shatter blushed and ran off, shouting, "OK, OK…"

A new, generic reploid walked out just as Shatter bolted out of the training area. He approached Shift, and as they began to train he asked Shift what that was all about.

"Girl worries…" Shift muttered.

------

Shatter walked uncomfortably up the stairs. She swore everyone and their cat was trying to look up her skirt. She didn't help the feeling because she was jostling her skirt every which way to try to get it to somehow magically stay down around her knees.

_Why did they have to build me with this embarrassing specification…?_ She thought. _Couldn't I have just been rebuilt sleeker, like my brother was?_

She made her way to the leader's headquarters and asked for Alia.

"I'm sorry. X and Zero decided to take care of another maverick problem, and as you know Alia is their navigator. Our trainee Chevette will assist you."

A short, little girl in perpetually the same outfit as her walked in from the back. She had thick, large round glasses perched on her nose, and she carried a small file folder.

"H-hi…" she said shyly, tapping her toe on the ground. She spoke quietly, with a vocal error that nobody, even Alia, could fix.

Shatter's eyes widened. She walked up to the little robot and placed her hand on the little, white-and-baby blue-colour-schemed girl's shoulder.

"You can rebuild my body, right?"

The girl smiled and blushed. "Wh-what would you like to d-do, miss?"

"Do you know what my original armour looked like?"

The girl held out her hand, palm up. A small, holographic figure appeared in the tiny hand.

"Th-this is…" she said quietly. "this is your old a-armour…"

Shatter smiled. "Good! You know what my brother, Shift, looks like now? His old armour, just thinner?"

The girl nodded. "Y-yes…"

"Could you rebuild me with my old armour in that style?"

The little reploid looked down and began to think. She looked back up a moment later.

"Pro-probability of success is min-imal…" she stuttered. "Alia tr-tried that and had to thro-throw out all her t-tries… I thought you'd li-ike this armour better…"

"Oh, you…" Shatter started. "You designed this armour for me?"

The little one nodded. "But if you d-don't like it, I-I will change it…"

Shatter looked down. "It's not a bad outfit, but I don't like my skirts that, well, short! That's really the only modification I'd make otherwise. However, since I'm a battle bot, the skirt's not practical."

Chevette nodded. "I re-realized that after you reawa-awa-awakened, Miss Shatter… I will re-re-e-ectify the situation… Please shut-ut down…"

So Shatter lay down in one of the tubes and shut herself down.

------

Meanwhile, Shift was struggling to pass Level 1 of the Hunters' exam. He was so used to his old body he could barely control this one.

"It's so light…" he said.

Then he remembered the words of his creator: "Agility is your power, not brute force."

He looked at his body and smiled. "That's right. I was built for speed. This lightness should only help that."

He vanished. The people testing him were looking all over their monitors, but all they could see was a green line on the scanner – the light that marked him was too slow to track his movements!

He reappeared. All the robots on the floor blew up at once. He smiled and caught his sword in his hand.

"That was my "armeni kuno taketsu" technique."

With that, all levels of the exam were a breeze. He had a difficult time with Level 24, because he was facing a robot of the same build, but he enjoyed that. It gave him the opportunity to showcase some of his best techniques, and reveal that he was a real threat to some of the Special-class Hunters.

After Level 24, he blew past Levels 25 through 56. At Level 57 he was laid to rest, soundly defeated by one of the Special A ranks.

His comment after the training was completed was, "I want him as a sparring partner!"

After he had been tracked up to Level 49, Shatter emerged in a number that was sleek, but stylish and comfortable for her. Her gun was now the size of a wristband, and could be fired while her hand was opened.

She began her training at Level 1. Like Shift, she had some trouble at the start, but since she was more of the power-type, she learned quickly how to harness her deeper energy reserves to acquire more power for her shots. She shot up to Level 48 before having trouble. Again, as it was with Shift, it was against an identical type, but she quickly learned the repetitive patterns the robot used and blew past it. She then climbed all the way up to Level 64 before being near trashed by a skilled reploid of the same type, just like her brother.

Her comment?

"This thing needs more foot weight. I can't get balanced properly."

So they rebuilt her feet and she did the test again. This time, with the added grounding, she got Level 72. They worked on her arm steadiness, and she fell to Level 41. They adjusted her targeting matrix, jumping to Level 75, but a malfunction set her back on the second trial to Level 28. The malfunction was addressed and she got back to Level 67, but no matter what she did, she couldn't go any farther. Six trials later, all of which ended a consistent Level 67, she gave up.

"I need more training. That's all there is to it." She conceded.

Their analyses completed, they proceeded to go on their second mission, and unlike the last one, they were going to start small.


	5. Resetting Their World

Resetting Their World Resetting Their World

V

Shift and Shatter were walking through reploid HQ with a few trainees. They were paying close attention to their instructor, a very tall but slim brown and red robot by the name of Glyde. He sounded very experienced, but they all knew that X and Zero both had far more field experience than this relatively new robot. He even admitted it as the ten new recruits clopped down the hallway towards their departure point. They were going to infiltrate a minor Maverick base southwest of the HQ on foot, as this specific base tracked teleport satellite signals. The operator of said base was one Manticora Maleficus, a low-ranking Maverick that was still considered dangerous to low-ranking Hunters.

But, as usual, Shift wasn't impressed.

"I could take that guy and his maker all at once," he spoke, chuckling.

Shatter sighed and rolled her eyes. "Yes, we all know you could take on God himself as well…"

"Well, it'd be a challenge…" Shift said, chuckling.

His sister shook her head, closing her eyes. "Yeah… for you to stay alive long enough to breathe…"

Shift continued laughing quietly and returned to listening. Glyde was dividing up the novices into units of two, addressing each unit as it was sent out on foot what its' specific task was. The first unit sent out was to retrieve a stolen energy orb. The second was to retrieve a special pair of glasses for Lifesavor. The next two groups were to attack the two tracking satellites.

"And Shift and Shatter, you're to go and take on Manticora," Glyde concluded. "Since you two are the best in your class by almost ten levels, you get the hardest mission, as well as the leadership role."

"Manticora won't live to see next week," Shift reassured the commander. "If Shatter and I have my way, we'll have the base tidied up and wrapped in a bow by sundown, ready to present to Signas as a present."

Glyde was unimpressed and unfazed. "Give me the proof when you return and before you brag, young robot."

Shatter giggled. Shift's eyes blew as large as beach balls. He blushed and whistled as the twins turned away and walked out of Maverick Hunter Headquarters.

"Whoa… what a stiff…" Shift mumbled, pointing to Glyde.

Shatter burst out laughing.

"Well, we better get this mission over with," Shift said. "Let's get going."

Shift and Shatter walked away from Maverick Hunter HQ onto the highway with the eight members of their troupe, chatting up a storm. Most of the group ended up gravitating to Shatter's kind, warm personality and away from Shift's brazen, sarcastic aloofness. They were glad when each of the pairs got to their respective departure point and left the pair, who eventually made it to the front gate. They hid in the bush until they felt the tracking satellites disappear. One disappeared, but the other still stood.

Suddenly, a searing shout reamed their ears into next Tuesday…

"Shift!! Shatter!! Mission fail!! Abort!! Abort!! Abort!!"

Shift smirked. "That's the signal, Sis."

"What?!" Shatter shouted. "The tracking signal is still up! We've gotta get out of-"

A huge swarm of Mavericks exploded from the doorway leading into the Maverick outpost. Shift and Shatter turned. Shatter quickly radioed in…

"Negative, Ricardo! They're coming out!"

They heard Ricardo's voice again… "Units 2C3 and 8012-SW, report to Maverick Base 3G-ZZZP9-801A! Two upper-junior grade Hunters in danger!"

Shift smiled. Shatter sighed. She prepared her gun and fired at each of the foes. Shift disappeared, appearing on the other side of the thickest batch of Mavericks. All forty of them blew to shrapnel… but he was quickly overwhelmed with the other hundred and ten that followed them. He couldn't use his speed in such tight quarters and with such a balanced force!

Shatter was doing her best to help her brother, but she had her own enemies to fend off. They came at them from all sides and in a very well-organized pattern, eventually isolating the pair from each other and encircling them. Shift had dropped his blade and was restrained, thrashing about. Shatter had her gun by her side, as if she was giving up.

"What's that?" Ricardo asked. "What's Shatter doing?"

Shift smiled. "You Mavericks are in for hell now. My sister's going to unleash her Blaze Wave on you all!"

"Blaze Wave!?" Ricardo exclaimed.

Shatter held her gun up high and shot a single blast into the air. She followed up with another one of a different energy type, which hit the first blast and sent it like shrapnel into the entire surrounding territory. Explosions rocked the entire landscape for a few miles, and wiped out two-thirds of the Mavericks that surrounded them. Shatter winced after the attack completed, as she needed to recharge her reserves. She still had her missiles, but those weren't very efficient. She needed to get Shift free.

Shift began fighting back against the Maverick that held him. He realized what he could do at this point. He crunched the Maverick's head against his own, flipped out of his grip, and landed right by his sword. Two Mavericks charged at him, swords drawn. He picked up his blades and quickly made short work of the duo. Shatter, however, was virtually paralyzed. The Mavericks noticed this, and turned their attention to the hapless female. Shift knew what they were going to do.

"No!" he shrieked, leaping at the remaining group.

A Maverick kicked him out of the way. He rolled in the dust and coughed, sputtering to regain his senses.

Shatter gasped. "No! Shift!" She sighed. "Well, it's now or never…"

She pointed her gun at them. "Come and get some!"

The thirty-odd Mavericks remaining leapt at the girl. She dove and rolled out of the way. She quickly stood and turned, firing at and destroying four of the opponent robots simultaneously. However, she was quickly overwhelmed once again by the assailing robots and surrounded. This time, she had no energy with which to fight back, period.

She knew now was the time.

She dropped her arms to her side. Her back opened up. Out shot a pair of monolith missiles, which formed in the air. She fired them into the onslaught of Mavericks. Unfortunately, her targeting systems had been severely depleted from her big blast before, so she misfired. One shot exploded within inches of Shift. The other fired wide and blew up a rescue envoy. The Mavericks, caught off-guard by this change in pattern, retreated back into their castle. Shatter's vision fuzzed over. She gasped, collapsing onto one knee.

"Dammit, Shift… We failed again…" she mumbled.

Shift was unconscious from the shockwave of the blast.

Some of the rescue team drove on to infiltrate the Maverick base while some retrieved Shift and Shatter from the ruins of war.


	6. A Shift in Paradigm

**A Shift in Paradigm**

VI

Two days later, Shift rapped his hand against the wall in frustration. His sister had told him about the failed mission, and he was ticked again. That was the second mission they had failed in this new world. He was beginning to doubt his usefulness to the Maverick Hunter HQ. Maybe it was them who didn't need him and his sister.

Shatter knew the frustration her brother felt all too well, but her perspective wasn't that they were useless. She was calculating their errors and saving it to their memory banks so they wouldn't make those mistakes again. The beauty of being twin robots was that they shared a constant link and could update their systems simultaneously, if necessary, and since Shatter knew Shift wouldn't reflect on his experiences, she had to update his skill set for him. She completed her update in short order, then proceeded to the shooting range. She passed out of the sixteenth-floor living space she and her brother shared, catching a glimpse of him holding his head in his hands on his bed as she left. She had to practice more.

Shift looked up just as his sister left the room. He sighed, still disgusted that he had let himself get out of line like that. His confidence was officially shot. He knew what he had to do, even if he didn't like it.

While his sister went to the shooting range, he went up to the medical lab and registered for a complete systems test. He was going to make sure they knew everything – _everything_ – about his systems so HQ could advise him. They were their only chance of survival in this dark world.

_If Dr. Light could see the world he created,_ Shift thought, _he wouldn't have touched robotics with a three hundred kilometre pole._

Just then Zero passed him, heading up to the upper deck. The red robot flashed Shift a thumbs-up. That didn't help. His head dropped and he slumped.

_I'm never going to be as good as Zero…_

"Still Level 57!" Shatter screamed.

She sighed and dropped to her knees. This was beginning to feel futile. She threw her helmet to one side with a loud bang against the wall of the shooting cage, dropped to her knees and screamed again.

The door opened. Shatter felt a friendly hand on her shoulder. X. Her idol. She calmed a little bit.

"What's wrong?" he asked her.

Without looking at him, she sighed. "It doesn't feel like Shift and I are working well in the field together anymore."

X smiled sweetly and allowed her to continue speaking.

"I mean, we get out into the field and all it seems Shift wants to do is blow the crap out of everything he sees," she complained. "He doesn't want to formulate a strategy or anything. How much easier would it make it for us to win? I see it. You know it. But he doesn't want to do it."

X nodded.

"I don't understand where he gets…"

"Shatter." X said.

The girl groaned and slapped her head with both her hands. X approached her, setting himself down on a nearby chair. He floated his legs around the back of the chair and examined the young robot's discouraged posture. Every ounce of her body was sunk over with pain.

X continued, "Every Hunter has that particular point during their life. That's all a part of living with the Imminus program of free will invented by my creator Dr. Light."

"Dammit, X…" Shatter cursed before stomping off, passing through the door, shouting, "I don't NEED this!"

X sighed. This was going to take forever.

An alarm went off.

"Dammit, Izzy Glow…" X muttered. "Now's not the time to…"

He exited Shift and Shatter's room, turning towards the teleporter.


	7. The Final Failure

**The Final Failure**

VII

An hour later, Shift and Shatter were sitting quietly in their room, communicating over their special twin link without saying a word. Often, these conversations were funny to watch, though often there was some serious discussion going on. This time it was about their future with HQ. Shatter felt uncomfortable, as if Shift had changed. His thoughts were darker now, of anger and bitterness at himself for being inadequate to serve Maverick Hunter HQ, at HQ for not helping him and Shatter enough, and at Shatter for not helping his effectiveness in battle, but most of all at the Mavericks for kicking his butt. He was speaking of ripping their rear gears out of their heads, tearing everything down with his sword, and occasionally speaking some glitchy nonsense she swore felt like a virus of some kind.

But it was different than the Sigma virus…

Shatter began to run a diagnostic on their programming, but was interrupted soundly by a headache-inducing, sudden end to their link. Shift stormed out of the room in a rage.

"Shift!" Shatter shrieked. "I'm worried about you!"

In front of the entire elite Reploid team, Shift turned around and laid a fist sharply into her head. He quickly stomped away again.

"Shift…" Shatter whimpered. "Why?"

"Damn that Shatter…" Shift mumbled, muttering obscenities under his breath. "Thinking I'm infected with a frigging virus… what an insensitive…"

He reached the training grounds, but when he tried to go through the door, he wasn't allowed in.

"What gives?" he shouted. "I'm a fricking Maverick Hunter! I'm allowed in here!"

Zero's voice came over the speaker. "Shift, report to main command. Shift, report to main command."

He punched the wall, embossing an image of his fist into the metal plank. He shook his head as he felt his circuits heating up a little.

"I can't let them know about…" he mumbled.

Shift turned and walked towards the elevator that led to the main command hall.

Ten minutes later, he entered into the hall. Immediately he grew hot and bothered. Images of him slugging his sister were played all over the screens!

Signas approached him and began a tirade of anger: "I am incredibly disappointed in you, soldier. After all we do for you to upgrade you and make you better you go ahead and perform this assault on your own sister model?"

Shift stood quietly.

"I have already removed you from the ranks of the Maverick Hunters. You are under arrest and will be moved to Alia's room for further examination."

Shift glared hard at Signas.

"I am not… not… no-o-o… o-o-t having problems," he stuttered. "I am… am-a-am-am… fi-am fine!"

Suddenly, a massive system overload was initiated and he blew four circuits and his cooling core. He collapsed in a heap on the ground.

Signas dialled Alia up. "Shift just collapsed in the main command center. Get medical attention immediately!"

Shatter lay in her bed, curled up in a little ball. For the first time in her life, she saw her death in her brother's eyes… and it absolutely terrified her. Never before had he acted like this, and now she was being told by the inter-HQ radio that he had been taken to the medical wing. She had never felt this alone. She had to see him – make it right. Her pet X sat on her knee, worried about her, but she ignored it. Something had to be done!

She kicked out over her bed, sending Pet X crashing hard into the wall and causing massive damage, which shut it down permanently. Shatter exited the room in a flurry of flailing feet.

Five minutes later, as she ran to Shift's bedside, an announcement screeched over the PA system:

"Eurasia is falling! Evacuate immediately!"

"Eurasia is falling! Evacuate immediately!"

"Shift! No!"

"Eurasia is falli-"


End file.
